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Friday, January 27, 2012

I finally went to bed at a decent hour last evening, but I did stay up to watch the Federer/Nadal match even though Rhonda gave away the ending in her lovely comment yesterday. I tried to do some sketching of Nadal's serving and returning, but I found it hard to capture. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't labeled it, it wouldn't be recognized as a particular player, just someone playing tennis.

I also wanted to share with you the ATC I received yesterday from Cynthia of Artists of the Round Table (A.R.T). She sent it in a really cute card that she doodled. I really love getting art in the mail.

It's going to be another busy day today. I am going up to the Maple Street Mall to help the hubster move from one booth to another and then am hoping to find time to workout before Miss Z comes to spend the night. I'm not sure, but I may have Miss P overnight as well. I tried to get Miss K for the night, but she is at her Mom's this weekend.

I expect I will catch the women's final tennis match, but will surely have to watch with the sound off. I really like both Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka, but really hate the screeching. I wish it would be outlawed. They may not play until tomorrow. I don't think the men play until Sunday. I think the match between Djokovic and Murray will be a really good one. I really don't have a favorite, but think it would be nice for Murray to win a major.

I hope you are finding time for the Australian open (if you like to watch tennis) or for some other activity which you enjoy and that you are safe and warm.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

I'm still staying up until the wee hours watching tennis. I found the Sharapova/Kvitova match a bit of a disappointment as both racked up countless unforced errors, but I stayed up until the bitter end. I'm glad for Sharapova (she is after all more American than Russian), but a bit sad for Kvitova. I couldn't stay up to see the Federer/Nadal match (It was scheduled for 3:30 am), but am sure to catch it some time today. While watching in the wee hours and working crosswords I did a bit of sketching. I don't think these are particularly good, but am pleased that I am at least trying.

Can you tell that the long, gangly sideways sketch is Djokovic?

I also decided to try a self portrait from the photo I took yesterday instead of sitting in front of the mirror. First I tried in ink (ugh!) and then used pencil. I like the pencil sketch, but am not sure I would recognize it as myself. I think the face shape in the ink attempt is truer to mine, but overall like the pencil sketch. I just wish I really looked like the pencil sketch.

I'm spending part of the day with a good friend I haven't seen in awhile. We will do a little bit of shopping and then have lunch out. I really must get on the treadmill afterwards as I didn't do it yesterday.

We had a lovely dinner late yesterday afternoon with the son and his family. I am surely going to miss them while we are on vacation. I have my lists all made and lots of planning going on in my head, but won't actually begin to pack until the weekend.

I subscribe to 217 blogs and must say that I really enjoy all the posts and art. I'm sorry I don't always take the time to comment and sometimes when I do try to comment, blogger won't cooperate. I do so appreciate all the fine bloggers out there - yes, you are one of them.

I hope you are having a fine day and that you will find time for creativity.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

I stayed up until almost 2 again last night this morning working crossword puzzles and watching tennis. At one point there was an interview with Roger Federer and Rod Laver. Rod was sitting somewhat sideways and I couldn't help but notice what a great nose he had. So I did a quick sketch of him next to the one of Rafa Nadal I'd made earlier.

I just got home from the post office and a hair cut appointment. I heard from Tracey to claim her Andrea Joseph zine and she sent me her addy. She lives in a place I'd never heard of before, so I went to Google maps and tried to do a sketch of a house in her town.

I know that Photo Booth is not the best way to take a self portrait, but I wanted to show you my haircut and I thought that you maybe would like to put a face to this "voice" of mine. For what it is worth, here I am.

I don't own any make up, and wouldn't know how to apply it correctly anyway, so you get the real me.

I am hoping to watch more tennis this afternoon and then the hubster and I are meeting the son and his family for dinner. After that we are going to my daughter's to celebrate my birthday early. I will be the big "60" on Monday, but we are going on vacation so won't be around for it. The hubster's birthday is on Groundhog's Day, so we will be celebrating his tonight too.

I hope you are having a great day today. Tracey, I was told at the post office that it would take between 12 and 15 days for the zine to reach you. Please let me know when you receive it and how you like it.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

My first born grandgirl just turned 9 last week. Just before her birthday she made her first trip to the orthodontist to begin her treatment. She has a palate expander and a Herbst appliance. It is causing her teeth to move apart so I had to take a picture so we can have a record to look back on and remember.

Here is my little beauty with her newly acquired "Lauren Hutton" gap.

And here is a bit of art she made for me using my Caran d' Ache Neocolor IIs and a bit of water on a brush.

I've done my 3 mile jog on the treadmill and decided to return to the scene of the activity and do a quick sketch of the view from there. I'm afraid the scale is not very good and the bridge looks a bit wonky, but here it is for what it is worth.

Maybe I should take some lessons from my girl tribe.

The Nadal/Berdytch match is on and I'm going to get a bottle of water and settle down in front of the TV and watch it a bit. Did you see the Clijsters/Wozniacki match last evening? Wow! I'm calling Kim for the champion when all is said and done.

Hope you are finding time to do some art and catch some of the Australian Open.

I am still waiting to hear from Tracey so I can send her the prize she won in yesterday's drawing. I am going to be going away for awhile at the end of the month and would like to get this prize in the mail before I go. If I don't hear from Tracey by Friday, I will choose another name from the comments.

Monday, January 23, 2012

I think I am pretty seriously sleep deprived what with staying up until all hours watching tennis. I am using that as my excuse for not trying a Posemaniacs sketch this morning. But yesterday I did try a self portrait in pencil. It is not very good, but I chose not to fuss over it. Maybe I should try a self portrait each day until I get it right. Do you remember Myrna Wacknov's "Drawn to the Mirror" project, in which she did a self portrait every day for a year? I don't think I will do that much, but maybe once a week. Stay tuned.... Anyway, here is yesterday's attempt. I tried holding the pencil quite loosely and I didn't have my glasses on so couldn't quite see what I was rendering.

At this point, I think any others I try will be an improvement.

Yesterday I decided to concentrate on miles rather than time while on the treadmill. I jogged for 3 miles and then did some abs and upper weight training with Denise Austin. I have her ebook, "Denise's Daily Dozen" on my iPod.

I decided to take a couple of pictures of what it is that I am looking at while I am jogging and share it with you. I think what I need is a flat screen TV on the wall straight ahead with a path so I can do a virtual outside jog. As you will see, I have a pretty good view when I jog. The thing is I am usually far away in my head and sometimes don't pay attention to this view at all.

This is just left and ahead as you can tell from the angle. This is to the west.

This is right next to the treadmill to the right side. This is then north view.

Thank you for staying with me this far. I know you just came over to see who is the winner of the wonderful zine, "How to Draw a Loon" by Andrea Joseph. Drum roll, please....................

The winner is

Tracey Fletcher King

Can you tell that I went to her blog and copied her name from there. Isn't that a lovely font. Tracey, send me an email so I can put that lovely art treasure in the mail for you.

Thank you to all of you who took the time to enter and perhaps you'll have more luck on the next giveaway.

Friday, January 20, 2012

I stayed up until a bit after 2 am and haven't caught up yet. Miss Z spent the night last night and was here until about 4:30 this afternoon. She only took about 1/2 hour nap. Needless to say, I didn't do any art (or at least not the kind I usually do), but I did get some really nice pix of the little miss. I can't believe she will be a year old already at the end of February.

So my art for today is the art of photography. These are as shot, with just cropping and resizing in Photoshop before getting them ready for uploading.

This is my last post for this week, but don't forget I'll be drawing for the Andrea Joseph zine on Sunday night and announcing the winner on Monday. If you haven't put your name in the drawing yet, leave a comment on this past Monday's post. Good luck all!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

It is cold and white out there this morning and the forecast is for a couple of inches today and a few more tomorrow. I am not a big fan of winter - mostly I don't like being cold and I hate driving on snowy roads. On the plus side, I like the slower pace of life in the winter. I read more in the winter months. It is beautiful to look out the window from a protected, warm home.

I have Miss Z coming late this afternoon to spend the night and much of tomorrow. I am so looking forward to it. She is such a lovely child and she is growing so fast. She will be a year old already at the end of February - what a fast year it's been. And she is into everything.

I did a warm up this morning with the Posemaniacs site. Some of these poses I am finding really difficult to do, but I will persevere because I really want to get better at it.

Don't forget to leave a comment here to have a chance at the latest Andrea Joseph zine. I will be drawing late Sunday night and will announce the winner on Monday. So far there are only 15 comments (actually there are 16, but I gave my friend, Nancy, one of my three copies as a gift so she will not be in the draw). Chances of winning are pretty good, unlike some of those that I've entered and I've been comment #2,564. C'mon, leave a comment - you know you want this.

Meanwhile, I hope you are safe and warm and can find some time for yourself and your creativity today.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

I got up about an hour ago, but decided before I did anything else I had to get cards made and my two swaps in the mail. Mission accomplished! Unfortunately, as is usual with me, I am so anxious to get swaps in the mail I neglected to take pix. I wouldn't share them until they were received anyway, but nevertheless I like to have pictures of my "creations". This is what my card looks like:

You may remember this watercolor attempt from late last year.

I decided that this would be a pretty card and that it would be nice to get some use out of this painting of mine. I am quite happy with how the cards came out. I have a box of pre-scored card stock from Red River Paper and matching envelopes that I use each time I send a swap out. I just made a custom sized preset in my printer page setup menu and now any time I want to print to a card, I just select the 7 x 5 custom preselect and voila!

Once I'd gotten the two swaps in the mail, I opened my web browser and went to the Posemaniacs site to do my daily warm-up. As usual the "blind" contours are on the left and the "looking" sketches are on the right. I didn't notice until I was ready to take a picture to share that the poses were mirror images of each other. How quirky!!

I thought I would put a snap of another bit of the zine I am giving away as a teaser today.

This is a two page spread in the "How to Draw Like A Loon" zine.

REMINDER:

The drawing for Andrea Joseph's latest zine will take place on Sunday night and the winner will be announced on Monday, January 23.

You must leave your comment in the post from Monday, January 16. One comment per person, please!

I hope you find some time for yourself today to be creative in whatever way gives you pleasure.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

It rained in the night and is foggy and still raining. We are planning to take the loft bed the hubster built for Miss M to her house and get it set up. She is thrilled about it and is planning to help by handing us the tools to put it together.

I did spend the first bit of this morning trying out my warm ups with Posemaniacs. Some of the poses are so difficult, I've been tempted to skip them, but then I remind myself that this is an exercise in "seeing" and maybe the more unusual poses are actually better training. At any rate here are a couple of poses for today. I forgot to date the pages before I took the photo, but have now done so.

The blind contours on the left look a bit like a foot fight - Oh, well.

The girls did a lot of painting with my acrylic paints yesterday - even the neighbor girl got in on the art action, but they all took what they'd done home with them. Actually, Miss M and Miss P each made something to give to Nancy when we went to her house yesterday, but took the rest home before I had a chance to get pix.

We spent a little bit of time with Nancy and Abby before we headed out for lunch. I must say Abby was in heaven with two little girls giving her all that attention. Nancy loaned me some books to take on vacation with me later this month and had made some goodies called Bullseyes for the girls to take home with them. I didn't get a good look at them before I sent them home with my daughter, but it looked like a small pretzel with chocolate melted in a small mound and then with an M & M on top. The little girls said they were yummy.

The hubster just asked me when I would be ready to head out to put the bed together so I'd best wrap this up. I have my teacup for my Watercolour Pencil Buddies swap except to put the back with info on it and I have my Artists of the Round Table ATC ready to be put in an envelope, but they might not make it into the mail until tomorrow. It looks like the issue of months flying by is going to continue into 2012. I was hoping for a bit of a slow down.

GIVEAWAY REMINDER:

I know that blogger has been intermittently naughty for some of you who've tried to leave a comment on yesterday's post as required to get into the drawing for the lovely Andrea Joseph zine, but keep trying. It appears to be working a bit better now.

The drawing will take place late Sunday, January 22, so you have time to get in on this art goodness.

Monday, January 16, 2012

It's here! It's here! My copies of "How to Draw Like a Loon", Andrea Joseph's latest zine has arrived and it is all I hoped for and more. It consists of 22 pages, and has a Classified section in the back. I purchased a space there for my "Faint Heart Art" repurposed books. This is the lovely art piece that I am offering as a giveaway. Here is a copy of the Etsy picture:

THIS IS THE GIVEAWAY.

And here is a link to the listing and to her blog where you can more of this zine and more of her distinct drawing style. I've subscribed to her blog for a long while and bought a previous zine, "How to Draw Like A Nut". But I only bought one copy of that one, so it is not a part of the giveaway. I just thought you might like to get a look at its deliciousness.

This is NOT a part of the giveaway. I just wanted to share it with you.

Friday, January 13, 2012

I hate to admit it, but I haven't been on the treadmill since the day I upped the jogging speed to 3.5 mph from the very comfortable 2.5 mph. The fact is my right ankle has been a bit wonky ever since and I am limping just a bit. My problem is that I tend to be overzealous - I think if 2.5 mph is good, just think how wonderful 5 mph would be. Before I settled on 3.5, I actually tried both 5 mph and 4 mph. Every time I do something like this, I think to myself, "Lesson learned." Well, I guess I am a slow learner. I will continue to listen to this ankle until it appears ready for more and then I will jog at 2.5 and enjoy that again.

This evening I have Miss K and her little sister, Miss Z and I am quite looking forward to it. My first born grandgirl, Miss P, turns 9 tomorrow and I am left wondering where all that time has gone.

I got up a bit late this morning to a blustery, snowy world. I have to admit it is awfully pretty, but I am glad to be inside with no need to venture out. I've done my two Posemaniacs sketches, one as a pretty much blind contour and one "sighted".

And then did a quick sketch of an abandoned Texaco station. I used this as a warm-up exercise just to get the juices flowing. I should have taken my time and produced something better, but sometimes just a quick exercise is what I feel I need.

The latest report on my sister is that she will be sent home today with some kind of vest that inflates and deflates to mimic deep breathing (something she is unable to do) and I think it shakes your chest to dislodge mucus and the hospital staff is teaching her husband how to use a nebulizer. I'll wait until they've had a chance to get settled at home and then will call to check on her. Thank you for your prayers and good wishes.

I have had my two mugs of morning coffee and am about to head to the kitchen for my cereal with blueberries, strawberries, kiwi and banana. I am unable to decide whether to call it cereal with fruit of fruit with cereal.

I hope you are having a warm, healthy day and that you are making time for yourself.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

This morning I decided to do a blind contour of the 60-second sketch and then a back and forth with the eyes drawing (I don't know what you call a drawing that is a contour, but not blind). It is interesting to me that for the most part my blind contours turn out much too wide and my others turn a bit too thin.

These two sketches are both of the same pose.

Then, thanks to my friend, Phil Davis, I decided to retry the street scene from yesterday by going more slowly and finding the vanishing point for each bank of buildings and trying to get my perspective better. I think I've achieved a much more pleasing sketch (as you can see it is not quite finished) and I feel quite good about it.

I'm going to have to try more of these to get the process to feel comfortable, but for now I see a huge improvement over yesterday's attempt.

I need to stay busy today so I don't worry myself into a tizzy. My sister, Margaret (Mags) is in the hospital with pneumonia and a partially collapsed lung. She was diagnosed with MS when she was 32 and by the time she was in her 40s, she was unable to get herself out of her chair and into her wheelchair. She turned 51 yesterday (how awful to spend your birthday in hospital) and she is unable to move herself much at all. I'm guessing she weighs about 90 pounds and it saddens me to so to remember that she was my pleasingly curvaceously plump sister before she was ravaged by this disease. I'm hoping to get better news today when Mom calls me with an update. I called the hospital to talk to her and her husband to find that she weighs 67 pounds and they are going to look at her lungs to see if the aspiration they did the night before is enough or if they will aspirate again today.

I hope you are well and that you are finding time for creative endeavors today.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

In lieu of the treadmill this morning, I spent about 90 minutes scouring, sweeping, mopping and doing laundry. I may do the treadmill later anyway just because I can, but if I don't get to it I can live with that. According to a source online, doing the kind of housework I did this morning uses about 365 calories in 90 minutes. What they don't mention is the satisfaction when it is done. I still have the vacuuming, dusting, and finishing the laundry, but I am waiting until the kitchen and entrance floors are dry.

I decided to take advantage of this lull by trying a sketch from Posemaniacs. I used pen this time and I think I will continue to do so. It is not great, but I still feel that this kind of almost blind contour is somehow beneficial to me.

I also tried another street scene. Boy, do I ever have to work on perspective. I am awaiting the day (probably 1,000 tries from now) when I am able to do a good job of these. I don't know why when they are so difficult for me and mostly I want to slap myself when I get done with them, but I really like drawing them and am sure that with time I will improve. Just a second - I had to knock down my inner critic. Sometimes she is so overpowering, whew!

Miss P is getting her braces today and I am hoping to see her afterwards. I hope it isn't too difficult or painful for her. According to her and her Mom, the orthodontist they've chosen is really great and the office is quite kid centered.

Well, I suppose I can't sit here forever. I have a load of towels in the dryer and need to put the area rugs in the wash next. Then I can move the furniture back into the kitchen and eating area so I can vacuum and dust. Don't you just love the smell of Pine-Sol. I really liked it much better when I just smelled it as I came in the house and someone else had done all the work.

Still sitting at the mail box and I've decided if my treasure doesn't come today, I am going to contact Andrea and see what she can tell me about its expected delivery.

I hope you have made some time for yourself today and that your creative muse is hovering.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

I've changed up my treadmill routine to try to challenge myself more, so yesterday instead of an hour of slow jogging (2.5 mph), I did a 3.5 mph jog for 30 minutes and then 2.5 mph for the last 30 minutes. Great workout! I think I'll try that again today.

I got up this morning and visited the Posemaniacs site as I am wont to do, but I've decided to go to the 60-second sketch instead of the 30-second - what a difference, it felt much longer than 1 minute. For today, the pose was like looking down on someone from a tree - maybe a bird's eye view. Here is what I was able to capture in the minute.

When I was done at the Posemaniacs site, I was thinking about Google maps and I remembered that there was a site that would bring up a random site and I wasted spent about 45 minutes exploring that. It is called MapCrunch. One of the sites it pulled up for me was a cute little cafe in Denmark. I've tried to capture it here.

Then when I checked my email, I had a very nice comment which I followed to the commenter's blog and found out about the Strathmore Online Workshops (thanks again, Cat) and I signed up for a watercolor sketch course with Cathy Johnson that begins on March 1.

I am reminding myself that I should be sketching in pen so I am not slowed down by tentative marks and erasures. Let's see how long I can stick with that.

I am not sure what is on the agenda for today. My daughter may be coming out this afternoon to use the treadmill - my enthusiasm and results are catching, it would seem. I've been thinking about Taco Tuesday at The Bone Island Grille and I think I have the hubster talked into it, but we would go in mid-afternoon. The evening we met a group there to celebrate my baby's 30th birthday, it was too crazy and parking was impossible. I'm not sure how I am going to calculate my calorie intake if we go, but I will do my best.

I also have to revisit The Virtual Paintout site that Lorna reminded me about. I've been there before, but it has been a long time. I should really try again and just sketch the first place I land when using Google maps. I find I look for the "perfect" setting for so long that I lose interest.

I am also working on a tea cup swap with the Watercolour Pencil Buddies Yahoo group and am ready to mail the ATC swap that I am participating in with the Artists of the Round Table Yahoo group, and am still anxiously waiting beside the mail box for my fantabulous delivery, but so far to no avail.

In rereading this post, I think I am getting overwhelmed with all the wonderful choices of things to do and participate in. Is there any way to get a few more hours in each day???

I hope you are finding lots of opportunity to play in your creative space today.

Monday, January 9, 2012

While reading blogs over the weekend, I was keeping up with Nina who is currently in Spain. She was in the town of Rondo in Andalusia and had some fantastic photos of the town built on the edge of a gorge. I've been itching to sketch buildings and landscapes, so went to Google maps and set my little yellow guy down until I found an interesting spot to sketch. Google maps is a bit limited and I wasn't able to get anything as nice as the photos on The Other Side of the Ocean blog, but.....

Then one thing led to another and pretty soon I was in the small town of Ribiu, Romania and found a cute, curvy street and what was I to do?

I'm really liking this 9 x 12 sketchbook.

I again began this day with a visit to the Posemaniacs site. I am getting a bit frustrated with this. Perhaps it is the size of the journal I am working in. It is just 4 1/2 by 5 1/2. It is difficult to do really loose sketches holding the pencil loosely. Revelle suggested vine charcoal and larger movement and that sounds like a plan. First I have to find some vine charcoal and then I think I need a larger work surface. I am not giving up on this journal. I love it, but I think I may change it up to 60 or 90 minute sketches and see how that goes. At any rate, here is today's offering.

Despite all my wishing and hoping and hanging around the mail box, my treasures have not arrived yet. I am gnashing my teeth in anticipation and will share as soon as they arrive.

I did receive one lovely surprise last evening when I was sent this photo of the lovely Miss Z.

Meanwhile, do make time for some art and enjoy this early 2012 because you know how quickly these years are passing.

Friday, January 6, 2012

This morning I tried two 30-second poses, one after the other. For the first one, I tried to put in shoulder, hip, and arm and leg lines and then go flesh them out. This did not feel natural and didn't turn out very well. On the second one I tried to just do a blind contour more or less. That feels much more like sketching what I see like Melliott said in yesterday's comment. I am going to have to commit to making these sketches blind contours and see if that doesn't improve things.

My first priority for today is to clean up my art room. I am blaming my lack of new projects on the complete disarray in here. Who knows maybe when I get it picked up and swept, maybe my Muse will return and get me started on a new piece of art.

I also have to get on the treadmill and do my one hour jog. This is my second week of 6 days a week. I am just taking Sundays off. There are lots of other things that need attending to, but if I can get my art room cleaned and do my treadmill routine, I will be happy. Anything else that gets done will be icing on the cake.

What about you? Do you have mundane tasks to do today? Or are you free to pursue creative endeavors? I hope you can find time for yourself and your art at some point in the day and throughout the weekend.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

So first I tried another 30-second pose. This was a man from the back. The time went by so fast, it seemed more like 15 seconds than 30, then I spent 90 seconds on the pose that I tried for 30 seconds yesterday and I like her a lot better, but I ran out of time. Of course, if I would quit erasing, I'd probably get more done.

I just put Miss Z down for a nap and need to get things picked up a bit. I am making a ground lamb recipe that I got from my friend, Nancy, but instead of pita, I am using multi-grain tortillas. The hubster may choose some other kind of bread as he tried one of the tortillas last evening and declared them to be awful.

I am severely lactose intolerant, so I skip the cucumber yogurt sauce, but I find just the lamb mixture wrapped in a tortilla or stuffed in a pita to be delicious just the same.

What are you planning for dinner? Have you made time for your art today?

I just ran out to check the mail. I got some art sale catalogs, but still no art from overseas. I am so anxious to show it to you and get this giveaway underway.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

I began the day with a 30-second sketch that was such a difficult pose I was pretty sure that when I shared it, you would have a very difficult time trying to figure out exactly what it was I was trying to portray. To help you with that I put a copy of the Posemaniacs pose next to my sketch. I just realized that for the most part these 30-second sketches are actually blind contours. I don't have much time to look at what I am producing. At any rate, for what it is worth, here is today's:

Some of the poses are from such a very different perspective that it is more of a challenge than usual.

Nancy commented yesterday that she would have to go to Posemaniacs and try a 90 second pose and I responded that you could only do a 30 second pose there and that I was using a timer to do my longer poses. When you click on the 30 second choice in the right hand column, it brings up a window with 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 60 seconds and 90 seconds, but all but the 30 second choice is grayed out. Imagine my surprise when I tried clicking on one of the other choices to see that I didn't need to time myself after all. Each of the choices are clickable. What fun - I am going to have to try some of the other choices.

Here is my 90 second attempt:

While it is not very good - way too skinny, I am pretty sure you are able to visualize the original pose from which this is sketched.

It is very cold here today, but I need to get out a bit today. I still haven't driven to the grocery store to pick up the essentials that are being depleted or are totally gone - milk, lettuces, apples, nuts, snack bars......

Miss Z is coming to spend the night again today. She is becoming a lot more challenging as she is getting into more and more things that I don't want her into, but what a fun child. I am going to get errands done today and do the treadmill before she gets here and still hope to find some time to get more art done today. I think I may try to sketch that pose I tried for the 30 second challenge today, but without a time limit to see what I can do.

Meanwhile, I am waiting patiently for the mail today and hoping that my surprise is in it so I can formally announce the giveaway. I'm beginning to feel as though I am teasing you by mentioning it and then not coming up with the goods, but trust me it will definitely be worth the anticipation.

I hope you find time today to stay warm and get to spend some creative time for yourself.